Coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism by chemical design.

Although the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in one compound is rare, some examples of such materials are known to exist. Methods to physically prepare hybrid structures with both competing phases are also known, which rely on the nanofabrication of alternating conducting layers. Chemical methods of building up hybrid materials with organic molecules (superconducting layers) and metal complexes (magnetic layers) have provided examples of superconductivity with some magnetic properties, but not fully ordered. Now, we report a chemical design strategy that uses the self assembly in solution of macromolecular nanosheet building blocks to engineer the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism in [Ni(0.66)Al(0.33)(OH)(2)][TaS(2)] at ∼4 K. The method is further demonstrated in the isostructural [Ni(0.66)Fe(0.33)(OH)(2)][TaS(2)], in which the magnetic ordering is shifted from 4 K to 16 K.